


I'm Alright With a Slow Burn

by friedegg_iminlove



Category: Teenage Bounty Hunters
Genre: Angst, F/F, Yearning, theyre both stupid i love them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:20:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26084818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/friedegg_iminlove/pseuds/friedegg_iminlove
Summary: Sterling and April find their way back to each other.
Relationships: Sterling Wesley / April Stevens
Comments: 65
Kudos: 350





	1. Chapter 1

**STERLING**

Sterling skips church on Sunday. She's not really ready to see everyone and deal with the questions everyone is bound to have. Her new phone, which her mom got her yesterday, is already blowing up with texts and calls. She turned it off the day before and has left it that way. Her mom and dad (aunt and uncle?) had offered for all of them to miss church, but she needs some space from them too, and insists they go. They do. Blair stays behind with her.

Things are a little weird and messy with Blair right now, but they're okay. After Dana dropped the bomb on Friday night, Sterling looked to Blair, and they had a twin moment. Blair communicated her love and appreciation for Sterling, and she did the same for Blair. They told each other that even if everything else changed, their sisterhood hadn't.

They don't really know what to say about the whole situation, so they don't talk about it. Blair drives (slightly less erratically than usual) to Yogurtopia in near silence. In an unusual act of kindness, Blair allows Sterling to pick the music. Naturally, she puts on the lock-in playlist, because she's a glutton for punishment.

Thankfully, Slow Burn doesn't play during the short car ride. Sterling doesn't think she could hear it without bursting into tears. Regardless, her mind has wandered to April, and she can't reel it in.

She thinks of her smile that she's pretty sure is reserved for her. How much softer April seems to become in her presence. The way her eyes betray every emotion so easily. Her lips. Gosh.. her lips. The feeling of them on hers, on her neck. She wonders if she'll ever get to taste them again, or feel them anywhere else.

She's struck by how much she misses the girl too. Not just her hands and lips and hair and eyes but her. How she allows herself to be so vulnerable with Sterling. The comfort she gave her when she was fighting with Blair. She just really wants to see her, even if April's done with their - relationship? fling? Whatever it was. She doesn't care. April is the only person she wants to talk to about all of this.

She tries to shake it off as she exits the car. Right now, she'd much rather focus on getting some froyo and a skip.

"Ain't y'all supposed to be at church or somethin'?" Bowser asks gruffly. "That's why we don't do nothin' on Sunday mornings, right?"

"Hi to you too, Bowsie," Blair's eye roll is almost audible.

"We skipped today because of, y'know, the whole thing," Sterling chimes in, since Blair didn't bother offering up an explanation.

Bowser looks uncomfortable. He's not used to feelings and family - let's face it, these girls are family to him.

"Right. Well, I told Yolanda I was going away for a bit, so she hasn't thrown me anything."

"Wait, where are you going?" Blair sounds alarmed.

"Oh, no, I changed my mind. Still probably gonna take a couple days before anything comes up though," Bowser shrugs, "think she passed all my leads to Terrance and the others."

"Will you call us when you do get something?" Sterling's unsure - after all, he did say he was done working with them just two days before.

Bowser sucks in a breath, contemplating, "yeah, I'll call you. Much as I hate to admit it, I do love workin' with you weird girls. You keep it interestin'."

"Bowsie wowsie! We love you too!" Blair squeals, throwing her arms around the big man.

"Bowse! That was so sweet," Sterling bounds over, wrapping her arms around her boss and twin. This felt like family. A weird, bounty hunting family. 

"Alright, alright, alright, that's enough!" Bowser tries to slip out of the group hug. "Y'all go get some yogurt, I won't even make you pay for it."

The twins grab their yogurt, load up on toppings, and head outside. They sit with their backs against the wall. Sterling let's Blair control the conversation. Unsurprisingly, she wants to talk about Miles. Sterling knows its wrong, but she tunes Blair out as she talks. She's heard the same story and subsequent complaints enough times to know exactly when to nod, when and what to interject, and when to bump her shoulder against Blair's.

The rest of the day passes uneventfully. Her parents (definitely parents, not aunt and uncle) tiptoe around her. Blair fields worried texts and calls all day, and Sterling doesn't bother turning her phone on until after dinner.

She scrolls through hundreds of messages from every single acquaintance she has. Nosy people trying to get info under the guise of concern, mostly. She groans internally. Sterling knew that word would spread quickly about her kidnapping, since Hannah S' dad was one of the cops that arrested Levi and Dana, but this was faster than she could've imagined.

Sterling ignores most of the messages. She skims through senders, but doesn't see any from the one person she really wants to hear from. She tries not to care. She really, really tries. It's not Sterling's fault she's upset - if the situation was reversed, she'd have texted April a thousand times. Trying to ignore the ache in her chest and the hot tears welling up behind her eyelids, Sterling scrolls to the messages from Luke. He's been sending them periodically the past two days.

_Sterling I just heard r u ok?_

_Sterli?_

_If u don't answer I'm coming over_

_Nvm mom said I couldn't do that_

_But I totally would_

_Sterli?_

_Please let me know ur ok_

_I'm glad we're together again_

_I thought about that kiss all weekend_

_Can't wait to see you tomorrow_

_Sterli I know ur ok bc Blair texted me_

_I love you Sterli_

Fudge. No, wait, this deserves the actual curse word. _Fuck_. Sterling knows its a mess of her own making, but oh boy, is it ever one big mess. She types out a reply and hits send, wondering how she's going to get out of this without destroying Luke's heart...again.

_Sorry! Had to get a new phone. I'm okay :) See you tomorrow_

Her thumb finds it way to April's contact and hovers over it. She fights the urge to call her. The whole thing is so messed up and she knows April broke up with her (if they were even together enough for it to be considered a breakup) but she's still the only person she wants to talk to.

A few weeks ago, Sterling would've never considered turning to April Steven's for comfort. She would've laughed at the thought of it. And yet, here she is now, crying over her. Literally crying over April. Wait, when did that happen? She angrily wipes the tears away and throws her phone far out of her reach so she won't be tempted to contact her again.


	2. Chapter 2

**APRIL**

It's weird having her daddy back. On one hand, everything is the same as it was before. Her parents act like nothing happened. Like daddy took an extended trip abroad. Her mom acted like he hadn't cheated on her, like he hadn't beat up a sex worker, like he hadn't spent weeks incarcerated. It made it so easy, too easy, to slip back into normalcy.

On the other hand, she knows what he did. She doesn't forgive him. She sees it when she looks at him: the anger bubbling just beneath the surface. She never really noticed it before; he'd always been her role model. The team captain of the Stevens family. She'd only ever seen him as an upstanding Christian man. As her daddy, who watched Star Wars with her and was beyond proud of her every achievement. Now, everything felt tainted, like all their memories had a dark filter over them.

With her daddy home, April was terrified of him finding out about her. She knows the Lord has no problem with her being a lesbian, but she also knows her parents will. She always figured she'd wait until college, once she was out of her parents' house, to come out. She's had plenty of crushes over the years, but always unrequited. Never would she have dreamt about any girl - especially not straight-as-an-arrow-with-a-long-term-boyfriend Sterling freaking Wesley to share her feelings.

It makes everything so complicated. She knew she couldn't come out before. Now that she knows about the mean, violent streak that runs through daddy, there's no way she could consider it. He'd never laid a hand on her before, but now the fear that he could follows her. She wishes Sterling could understand. She doesn't have what she does - she doesn't have a Blair. She has a dysfunctional family built on lies and the visage of perfection.

April's pulled from her thoughts when her mom comes in to wake her up. She prides herself on her punctuality, and has an excellent internal alarm clock. She's always awake at least ten minutes before she needs to be.

"Good morning, sweetie," her mom's voice is tired and her smile is strained.

"Morning, mom," April says, sitting up and pushing the covers off.

"Here, thought you might want this," her mom passes April's cellphone to her. When she came home from the lock-in on Saturday morning, her dad had decided they needed some distraction-free family time. All phones were left in her father's office for the remainder of the weekend. Her and her dad binged an entire season of Clone Wars, and her mom kept them supplied with snacks.

"Thanks," April said. She turns her phone on, grateful to have the ability to reconnect to society.

"Breakfast will be ready in 20," her mom says as she steps out of April's room.

"Thanks," April says, distracted. Her attention is focused on her phone, which has significantly more messages waiting for her than she anticipated. She checks her messages from Ezekiel first.

_omg have u heard about white girl w the eyes???_

_hello!!??_

_girl come ON_

_ok well in case ur hiding out under a rock or something she ran off with some older guy and her parents called the cops!! absolutely wild_

_this is the best goss we've had in YEARS and ur sleeping on it!!_

_April I need u to dish w me_

April is stunned. She has no idea what to think, except that there's no way that's true. She checks her conversation with Hannah B next, feeling like she's watching a car crash in slow motion.

can you believe abt sterling and blair?? their mom tried to kidnap them and take them to mexico!!!

_april???_

_omg did u get taken too??_

_april this is a bad time to go mia!!_

She checks messages from various other friends and acquaintances, knowing grains of the truth were probably scattered throughout the different narratives. She hears from Hannah S that she was kidnapped by her aunt, but April knows that the Wesley girls have one uncle and no aunts. Mary claims that she was ransomed for a quarter of a million dollars. Emily swears that Sterling had been kidnapped at birth, and Kat was convinced that Sterling was shot in the leg.

Noticeably missing is any messages or calls from Sterling herself. April tries not to let it worry her too much. That is, too much more than she already is. Her stomach is tied in knots, and an icy hand is squeezing her lungs. April gets ready in a hurry, and is uncharacteristically jittery by the time Hannah B pulls up outside.

Sliding into shotgun, April begins interrogating Hannah B immediately. "What happened with Sterling?" Her eyes are boring into Hannah B, her words urgent.

"Uhm, I've heard a bunch of different things now but I think she was kidnapped when she left the lock-in on Friday," Hannah B says nervously, uneasy under April's intense stare.

"Is she okay? Who did you hear it from? Have you talked to her? Has anyone talked to her?"

"Uhm..."

"You know what?" April rolls her eyes, "never mind. Just drive."

April doesn't want to get her hopes up - chances are, Sterling won't be at school today. It doesn't stop her from leaping out of Hannah B's car before it was even fully parked and running across campus though.

She arrives at Fellowship far too early, and far more out of breath than usual. Her, Hannah B, and Ezekiel usually meet have time to grab coffees from the café across the street and leisurely walk back to campus, still making it to Fellowship ten minutes early - under April's insistence that Fellowship Leader should always be the first one in. 

April bursts into the classroom, letting out a gasping breath she hadnt realized she was holding. Sterling was there. The taller girl looked so small, crumpled on the couch, knees to her chest. She looks up and April meets her eyes. She can see that Sterling has been trying to keep it together. It doesn't look like she's been crying - her makeup is perfect and her eyes aren't puffy. Her blue eyes are watery and shining with unshed tears though, and the redness rimming them betrays just how close she is to falling apart.

Without a though, April drops her bag and rushes to Sterling. She throws her arms around her and holds her in an awkward embrace, still standing while Sterling hugged her knees.

"Oh my gosh, Sterl, I was so worried," April says, frantic.

"You didn't call. Or text," Sterling sounds dejected. She pushes her bottom lip out in a pout, and April wants nothing more than to take it between hers. Instead, she pulls back and sits on the couch beside her. She makes sure to leave some space between them.

"Sterl, it's not because I didn't want to. I didn't have my phone. I didn't even find out until this morning," April peeks at the other girl from under her lashes. Sterling says nothing, so she presses on. "Are you okay?"

Sterling shakes her head. "I don't know how to be okay," she presses her fingertips to her eyelids like shes trying to hold the tears inside them.

"Could I...give you a hug? April feel helpless. She doesn't know if there's anything she can do to make this girl feel any better.

Sterling nods. April winds an arm behind the other girl's back. She pulls Sterling closer, closer closer, until they're flush against each other. She hears Sterling's breath hitch in her ear, and she pretends it doesn't send a shiver down her spine. Only when she hears the door open does April pull back. As she draws back, April whispers "I need you to know that you've still got me. No matter what, you can come to me."

"Oh hi girls!" Ellen springs over.

Ellen, of course, has questions for Sterling. April can see that she's restraining herself when she only checks in to make sure Sterling's okay, but doesn't pry further. Even though April knows that the rest of the students will be filtering in shortly, she doesn't make any move to leave Sterl's side. They can't be together, but maybe they don't need to be sworn enemies anymore.

Fellowship flies by. April stays seated beside Sterling, occasionally allowing her pinkie to graze the other girl's. She can feel Sterling tense beside her every time someone asks her about Friday. April sends withering looks at anyone who so much as looks at Sterling.

When fellowship ends, April misses the feeling of Sterling beside her. She misses how she smells light and summery. She misses that her hands are always warm. She misses her. She groans internally at herself. At the cliché of it all. She's screwed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, this went in a completely different direction than planned? hope y'all enjoy it! also I dont have a beta, and I'm too lazy to proofread. feel free to point out any mistakes!

**STERLING**

Sterling has three classes a day with April. She starts every morning with Fellowship. Since April's Fellowship Leader, she's got an excuse to stare at her the entire time. As much as she wanted that position, she does think it looks good on the shorter girl. She's passionate, devoted, and knowledgeable. She's very intense when she's leading readings, and Sterling finds herself lost in daydreams instead of following along.

She thinks about April. On top of her. Pinning her down. Her strong, sure hands sliding up her thighs. April's lips. On her neck, preferably. Or on her lips - that's also so good. She thinks about how April tells her when she likes something, and praises her when she does it. They've only ever made out, but April turns Sterling on far more than Luke ever had. Hell, she turns her on when she leads readings on abstinence.

The remainder of the day is worse. She's already wound up from Fellowship, and then she sees April again two periods later for Bible Studies. There's no assigned seating, but they've taken to sitting together. Sterling spends the period sneaking sideways glances at April. Sometimes April catches her and flashes her trademark half smile. Other times, Sterling catches April staring. Instead of looking away, April smirks, looking like she enjoys watching the flush rise in Sterling's neck.

She's so soft for April. She wants to run her fingers through her hair. She wants to hold her so tightly. She wants kiss her cheek every time she smiles. The corners of her mouth. Her perfect lips. She wants to be the reason April smiles, so that the kisses are that much sweeter.

By the time Spanish rolls around, Sterling feels like she's losing her mind. She watches the back of April's head, loving how often the girl plays with her hair. When April gets called up to the front of the class, Sterling gulps down a gasp. April is approximately 10x hotter than usual (which is already realllllly hot) when she speaks Spanish. The way she rolls her Rs sends a shiver through her whole body.

That first week is _rough_. Really rough. Sterling feels like her hormones are out of control. On Thursday, and again on Friday, she slips into the janitor's closet during _school hours_ to relieve a little tension. She was never this wound up when she was with Luke. Ever since April awakened something in her at the debate tournament, everything that girl did turned her on endlessly.

She's grateful when the last bell rings on Friday. The weekend will bring a much needed reprieve from her pining - hopefully. She's sure that not having to stare at April Stevens for hours every day should help, at least a bit. If she can keep from creeping her social medias, it should help. In theory.

When she gets to her car though, April's leaning against it, waiting for her. She's grateful that Blair is off on a date with some boy, mending her broken heart, because she would certainly have words for April. Not nice ones, for sure.

"Hey," April says breezily, pushing off the car, "can we talk?"

"Uhm, yeah?" Sterling feels her nerves rising. "What do you wanna talk about?" She unlocks the car and slides into the driver's seat.

April slips into the passenger seat. "I was hoping you might tell me what happened to you last week?" She holds her breath, "if you're okay with that?"

Sterling doesn't say anything as she collects her thoughts.

"I didn't want to bring it up at school, and I didn't want to do it over text," she glances sideways at Sterling. "If you don't want to talk about it though, we could just go to the Fun Zone and play skee ball or something?" She finishes up quickly.

"No, no, no, I'm good to talk about it," Sterling assures, "I just don't really know where to start."

Sterling sucks in a deep breath. She hasn't talked about it, not really. A little with Blair, a little with her parents. She knows rumours spread through school like wildfire earlier in the week, but she ignored them. The rumours seemed to have died down - Sterling acting like nothing happened seemed to quell them.

"My parents... aren't my parents," Sterling looks to April, gauging her reaction. She looks confused. She presses on, "My mom is my aunt, who I didnt know existed."

April's mouth is agape. "Wait, what do you mean? How?"

"I guess my aunt - mom- Dana - wow that's not an easy thing to wrap your mind around! Anyway, Dana - that's my aunt - or mom I guess? Dana, right. She was in some trouble with the law, so her twin - my mom? Aunt? I dunno. Whatever. My mom raised me."

"Sterling, wow. This is... a lot. I'm so sorry," April reaches over the console to place a hand on Sterling's arm. "So is Blair...?" She trails off.

"Blair is..." Sterling can feel tears pricking her eyes, "my cousin. Not my twin. Not even my sister," the tears are starting to spill over, and her voice is cracking.

April slides her hand down to grasp Sterling's. "Blair is still your sister. You two are so strangely close; that kind of bond can only be described as sisterhood," April says, matter-of-factly.

Sterling nods. She knows this. However, it feels so good to have someone else say it. Someone not in your family. It feels like it's been validated. If April can see that Blair's her sister, then it must be true.

Sterling casts a glance around the parking lot. They're the only ones left. Before she can change her mind, she crawls over the console and drops awkwardly onto April's lap. She desperately wants to kiss her, but she refrains. Instead, she wraps her arms around April's neck, collapsing into her as much as the small seat allows.

"Sterl," April says, her voice tight. It sounds like she's trying to scold Sterling, but shes having too much trouble keeping her breathing and heartbeat under control for it to really have an impact. She doesn't make any move to change the arrangement, either.

"You should let me get on top," April's face drains of colour the second the words leave her mouth. "You know what I mean," she says, shooting dirty looks at Sterling, who's giggling uncontrollably. "I just mean that I'm smaller!" Sterling has never seen April turn this shade of red before, and shes loving every moment of it. "Whatever, never mind."

"April, I'm happy to let you get on top anytime," Sterling's face is hovering inches above April's. She bites her lip. She's fighting every single urge to be reckless. She knows that she'd rather have April as a friend than as nothing at all, and she already pushed her luck.

The taller girl pushes herself up so that the smaller one can maneuver out from underneath her. She spins and drops into the seat. April holds her eye contact as she places one knee on either side of Sterling's lap. She gently lowers her body to settle against the other girl.

Sterling's mind goes blank as she stares at April. She can't think, not when the brunette is _straddling her._ April is still staring into her eyes, and Sterling could get lost in the green of her's forever. She can tell that April knows exactly what she's doing. Sterling's breath hitches. _Fuck_.

April brings a hand to Sterling's face. She tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear, then let's her hand rest against her cheek.

"How's the maxilla?" April queries, grinning openly now.

"Uh, y'know, numb," Sterling's amazed she can form a semi-coherent sentence.

"Yeah? Tell me how this feels," she says as she presses her lips to Sterling's. The feeling of April's lips on hers snaps her out of her haze. Her hands find their way to the other girl's hips, where she digs her thumbs into the rough fabric of her school uniform pants.

The kiss starts out chaste, but when Sterling parts her mouth in a small whine, April deepens the kiss. Sterling moans, savouring the feeling of April's tongue sliding against hers.

April pulls back, "so?"

"So?" Sterling leans forward, trying to recapture her lips.

April pulls back, smirking, "how did it feel?"

"So good," Strrling affirms, nodding frantically.

"Good," She leans back in, slowly pressing her lips against Sterling's again.

Sterling's hands travel up, over April's tucked-in shirt, to her shoulders. She rakes her fingernails down the rough fabric, relishing in the small noises it elicits. When her fingers reach the top of her khakis, Sterling tugs on April's blouse, silently asking permission to untuck it.

April breaks the kiss just long enough to nod her assent. Without hesitation, Sterling pulls the shirt free, sliding her hands up underneath. She takes her time, reveling in the feeling of April's skin under the palms of her hands. Slowly, she ghosts her fingers along her back, thumbs circles on her stomach.

"Oh, yes, good," April nods, moaning softly, "I like that."

Sterling is ready to do anything at all that April wants and likes. She'll do this forever, if that's what the other girl wants. April rocks her hips into the taller girl. Sterling groans in appreciation. Her hands glide up April's toned stomach, coming to rest over the other girl's bra. She gauges her reaction - a shudder, followed by a moan that reverberates in Sterling's mouth.

She squeezes gently, then swipes her thumbs over her bra, before dragging her fingers back down April's stomach. April's deft fingers start popping the buttons on Sterling's shirt open.

She pauses, "this okay?"

"Yes. Please don't stop," Sterling _needs_ April's lips back on hers. April has other ideas. She pushes Sterling's shirt down. She cradles her face, tipping it to the side. April licks a stripe from from collarbone to jawline. Sterling's movements still. She gasps at the sensation.

"Mm. yeah?" April presses kisses along the column of her throat.

"Y-yeah, mhmm," Sterling manages, barely.

"I like discovering what you like," April says softly. She bites down, gently, on Sterling's pulse point. Sterling's heart beats like crazy, and breathy whimpers escape her mouth.

"I think... I think I'd like anything you'd do to me," Sterling pants.

April kisses her so softly and gently, as if she were made of glass. "I think I'd like anything you'd do to me too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY FOR BEING HORNY ON MAIN!!   
> anyway, kudos & comments fuel me, lemme know whatchu think!!


End file.
